There Is No Need To Stretch Before A Workout.

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There Is No Need To Stretch Before A Workout. 

It has been the topic of debate for years 'is it better to stretch before or after a work out?' There is no evidence that stretching prevents injury or improves performance, experts now will till you that it can in fact reduce your performance.  It has been proved that a functional range of motion is more important than flexibility when it comes to staying injury free. 

“If you can run comfortably, and without injury, there is no need to stretch.” 

says William O. Roberts, professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He’s also RunnersWorld.com's "Ask the Sports Doc" columnist.  

Before your work out your time is better spent warming up with dynamic stretching; these are found as a part of your warm up regime.  Any areas that do feel light or feel or sore may require a stretch before your workout in order to not cause injury.

Stretching after a workout can help kickstart your bodies recovery process, this loosens your joints and muscles and help you to feel back to normal after a workout.  When you lift weights your muscles your muscles contract and stay contracted after your workout.  When your muscles are recovering from a work out they are restoring the length of the muscle, until the muscle has restored it's length it has not repaired.  

Performing stretches as a part of your workout is key, stretching increases your flexibility, improves your range of motion in your joints and most importantly speeds up your recover and aids in gaining muscle. Stretching should always be performed after your workout.
As we get older, flexibility and mobility will start to decline which makes people feel older.  By staying flexible  we're more likely to stay feeling healthier and happier for far longer.  Staying flexible will help to keep active and keeping active helps to keep you feeling young.
key points for stretching: 

• Keep it gentle - You could cause yourself just as much injury by doing stretches incorrectly as woking out in correctly.  

• Don't Bounce - Bouncing can cause micro trauma in your muscles which heals it's self with scar tissue making you less flexible. 

• Keep breathing - it is important to make sure that your continue breathing in through our nose and out through your mouth, holding your breath will increase blood pressure and make you feel dizzy.  

• If you feel pain, You've gone to far - You shouldn't feel pain while stretching, you should be able to feel that the muscle is being stretched but not to the point of pain. 

• Hold for 30 seconds - Holding for 30 seconds allows the fibres in your muscles to lengthen and this only begins to happen after about 20 seconds.  

You should hold your stretches for around 30 seconds on each side, anything less than 20 seconds will not make much of a difference in lengthening the muscle fivers and tissues alternatively if you hold a stretch for too long you are also at risk of injury.  Some stretches may help you with a problem area you may have or they may ease some pain or discomfort you experience, if this is the case then it may be helpful to repeat the specific stretch a couple more times in your routine.  It's always advised that you speak to your doctor or physical therapist about which stretches are best for you if you have any health conditions or injuries.